John Noce led the College of San Mateo (Calif.) baseball program from 1962-1992. In 31 seasons, his teams compiled a record of 772-412 (.652) while capturing 13 conference titles and finishing runner-up three times in the California Community College state playoffs. More than 200 of his Bulldogs went on to play at four-year institutions and 72 of them would go on to play professional baseball.
Noce’s impact on the game of baseball was felt worldwide as he mentored players and teams in Edmonton and Drummondville, Canada, and in Austria, Romania, and Holland. His contribution in Novara and Parma, Italy was quickly recognized by the Italian Baseball Federation, where he was appointed assistant coach for the Italian National Baseball Team from 1977 through 1996. Noce accompanied Italian teams to the Olympic Games in 1984 (Los Angeles), 1992 (Barcelona), and 1996 (Atlanta), and he continued coaching internationally through 2011 in Lithuania.
A Lifetime ABCA Member, Noce was inducted into the inaugural class of the College of San Mateo Athletic Hall of Fame in 2011, the California Community College Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 1993, the San Mateo County Hall of Fame in 1992 and the Peninsula Basketball Officials Hall of Fame in 1996.
In 2023, Noce was honored with the prestigious ABCA/Wilson Lefty Gomez Award for his contributions to the game of baseball locally, nationally and internationally.
